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‘Best’ Wins East Coast Regional FMG Young Farmer of the Year

‘Best’ Wins East Coast Regional FMG Young Farmer of the Year

Posted by on 3 April 2017 | Comments

Technical Field Officer, Hamish Best felt honored to win the East Coast Regional FMG Young Farmer of the Year, after a commanding performance which saw him convincingly take the title in Waipukurau on Saturday.

The over-whelmed 26-year-old, raised on a sheep and beef farm, said he ‘had put in a lot of hard work’ ahead of the regional final and it had defiantly paid off.

Having competed before, Hamish used this experience to his advantage and displayed a diverse range of talent and skill. Taking out four of the five Agri-Challenges on offer this Tikokino Young Farmer proves himself real threat in both the technical and practical facets of the competition. Also East Coast’s Regional Chairman, Hamish will undoubtedly have plenty of support following him to the Manawatu for his chance at bringing the FMG Young Farmer of the Year title home.

For winning the final Hamish gained $12,500 in prizes including a Honda XR150 motorbike and a $1000 cash reward from FMG.

Second place went to 24-yead-old Daniel Tarbottom from Tararua. The Sheep and Beef Farmer in this his second Regional Final took out the fiercely contended Agri-Sports Challenge.

Third place getter in his first year of entering the FMG Young Farmer of the Year, Patrick Crawshaw rounded out a successful evening for the Tararua District.

The Grand Final of the FMG Young Farmer of the Year will take place from July 6th to 8th in the Manawatu with seven Grand Finalists from around New Zealand including; Otago/Southland’s Nigel Woodhead, Aorangi’s Arjan Van't Klooster, Tasman’s Andrew Wiffen, Northern’s Lisa Kendall, Waikato/Bay of Plenty’s Richard French and East Coast’s Hamish Best. The last of the Regional Finals in the Taranaki/Manawatu Region is to take place on the 22nd of April in Hawera.

AgriKidsNZ place getters; with the top three also qualifying for the Grand Final in Manawatu went to:

Third Place - The South Shearers from Dannevirke South School, Second Place - The Ongaonga Milkyways from Ongaonga School and First Place went to The Redbands from Tinui School.

The TeenAg place getters with only the top two places qualifying for the Grand Final; Third Place - Dannevirke High School, Second Place - Napier Boys High School, with First Place going to Tom Laurie and Angus Parks also of Napier Boys High School.

How the FMG Young Farmer of the Year works:

400 contestants competed in 22 District Contest and Skills Day nation-wide where they can opt to 'Have a Go' which means they cannot progress to the next level – or they can enter competitively.

56 contestants compete in seven regional finals from Northern, Waikato-Bay of Plenty, Taranaki-Manawatu, East Coast, Tasman, Aorangi, Otago-Southland from February to April.

The seven winners of the regional final will go on to the Grand Final in July 2017 at the Manawatu.

In 49 years only three females have ever made the Grand Final:

Denise Brown who placed Seventh in 1981

Louise Collingwood who was Placed Third and Runner Up in 2001 and 2003